


Hide Away.

by forthosewhohavefallenexceptionally



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Daniel is just a monster tbh, Elf Culture & Customs, Elf David, Elf Gwen, Elves, Gen, Human Max, Royalty, dadvid, of course
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 21:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12155433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forthosewhohavefallenexceptionally/pseuds/forthosewhohavefallenexceptionally
Summary: Changeling sacrifices are long since a forgotten tradition. Yet, one night David is met with the sound of a crying child. And his only impulse is to save him, whether or not it brings the whole world down in the process.





	1. Preface

The woods were quiet at this time of night, the fireflies swarmed the tree lines and lit their path in a serene way. Two figures could be seen among the mess of trees and underbrush. They stood at least six feet, and had ethereal properties to their skin. Elves, one would assume. Changelings, one might cry.

David’s fiery hair illuminated their way, a beacon, show casing his social status. Gwendelyn, a fighter, had darkened strands, which helped shadow her away from the despicable humans that destroyed their forests.

She gave David a worried look as they trekked into the uncharted territory of the Wildings. “David, are you sure you heard it? It’s been centuries since someone has left us a child.” Of course he had, he wouldn’t lie about such a thing. The aspect of a precious, innocent soul being left to fizzle out cold and alone had him shaking. He glanced towards the darkness, eyes searching for something hidden.

“Yes, Gwen. I’m absolutely positive. I heard the crying, and I am not leaving the woods until we find him.” his steps were soft, languid. Those of royalty. Gwen shook away the thought of the young prince befalling a terrible fate.  “The man in white will not take this young. I don’t care what my father says, a child this innocent needs to be saved.”

“General Campbell will have my head.”

“I’m finding this child before Daniel does, you’re welcome to head back if you do not feel this is important.” It was quiet between the two of them for a moment. A prince and a hunter leaving the Eleven boundary together was only acceptable when he was going to visit foreign lands on a peace treaty. Not to go gallivanting in the early hours to find a child who might not even exist. If General Campbell didn’t acquire Gwen’s head, then the King certainly would, for putting his son in danger.

A snap of a tree branch alerted the hunter, who raised her bow, eyes searching for the Wilding. Gwen saw Daniel before David did.

“Go. Find the baby. I’ll take care of him.” A shot of white came into David’s line of view the moment it hurled itself at Gwen.

David took off sprinting, feet carrying him swiftly, his movements like a river. Deep green eyes searched the underbrush frantically, looking for anything that could resemble a child. HIs pointed ears twitched at the slightest sounds.

Gwen was struggling, arms pinned down, and legs on either side of her waist. He looked down upon her, gazing at her with nothingness. “You heard him too.” Daniel only nodded, his focus on holding Gwen down. “You know David will get to him first.” His dead eyes just stared into her, something almost like recognition flashing before them.

“The K… ing wo….n’t be h...a p...py.” his voice was deep and guttural, it resembled the chanting of monks in temples, of Cthulu himself. It rang through the forest, everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The crying started up again.

 

He was almost to the human world. The barrier was drawing close, and he could feel himself growing weaker. The plague of the human race. But he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t let an innocent soul perish. The child would die if he was to be left to the elements.

He neared upon a great hill, a small wood marking the bottom. The only way would be to climb down and hope the child was hidden among it. And god did David hope.

He placed his barefoot on the ledge and tipped himself. The realization of his fall only dawned upon him when his tunic shirt caught a nearby root, and ripped half of it from his body. Father surely would have to forgive him for tarnishing such a fine material.

He landed face first in the mud, freckles of brown accompanied his already prominent ones. The gentle curves of his ears twitching in fear.

“I know a place that’s tucked away,” A coo sounded from the tree barely five feet away. A pair of bright, and brilliant green eyes stared back at him. “Found ya.” There he was, tucked away in the base of a tree, his small, thin body clothed in a blue and white striped jumper. It was soaked, as was the basket he had been placed in. A damp note was settled next to him, barely readable in the muck of the night.

David could make out just a few words. “In the light of recent events, of my sickness and my soon death, I would rather give my beautiful son to the elements then let him be placed in the arms of his father.” David grasped him up, pulling him close and letting a slight sob escape him.

Black tuffs stuck up on his head as he snuggled into David’s chest, sleep finally taking him. “You’re safe, little one.”

And David vowed he would never let him go.


	2. A name that fits.

A handmaiden had taken the responsibility of cleaning up the baby, and clothing him in infantile robes. He smelled of rose petals, and lavender, a calm setting over both him and David at the scent. David held him closely, singing softly and rubbing circle into his shoulder blades. 

“David.” Gwen had already chided him for not bathing until he was sure the child was safe, so what could possibly be bothering her as of now? “Did you forget that you’re supposed to meet with your fiance upon the hour? Or were you too caught up in your false sense of motherhood to realize how much danger we’re in?” David’s eyes widened at the thought of Jasper and his reaction to his new found son. 

“Jasper will love him as much as I have found myself to.” 

“You’ve had him for three hours.” 

“That doesn’t diminish my love.” 

“And what if Jasper does not love him as much as you believe you do?” David shushed the stirring child, swaying his hips, ceremonial garb following him in the act. 

“Then I will leave the kingdom and throw myself into the human world. No child deserves abandonment.” Gwen’s eyes widened at his statement, utter disbelief prominent. 

“Your mommy issues aren’t exactly going to excuse the action of the crown prince running away to the human world for an orphan!” David flinched and held the child tighter to his chest, fingers absently running through his dark locks. 

“My mom leaving has nothing to do with me taking the little one in.” 

“Then what does?” 

David shot a look at her, one she knew too well. It was the look the King gave when bestowing a punishment. A look of complete disappointment and fury. “How would you feel if a baby from our village was left to the elements? To starve and die by themselves?” 

Gwen became quiet. “I would bring them to the orphanage and make sure they were given the best treatment.” 

“So why does it matter if this child is human or elf? He didn’t choose to be born a human, and we didn’t choose to be born elves. So why discriminate against something you can’t choose to be? The only thing wrong with that fact is that you think a life is any less important because it wasn’t born into a certain social setting. And for that fact, I am very disappointed with you, Gwen.” 

“David.” 

“I have a son now, and if he just happens to be human, that doesn’t mean any less to me, than if he was born elven.”

“Your father won’t let you keep him.” 

“He kept me. And I just have to pray that he holds the same morals he did all those years ago.” Gwen hesitated on how to proceed on the subject. David’s mother was a sensitive topic, one even she wasn’t clued in on completely. She knew as much as David and the rest of the Kingdom did. 

David’s father, King Losid, had fallen in love with a nymph. Her name was Rowania, the great mother tree. The one that gave their world life. Losid caught her image one day when going about his princely duties, and fallen completely and utterly in love. 

He courted her, and they fell to bed together. And she fell pregnant. A child, one more charismatic and ethereal than Losid could ever imagine. 

The The Kingdom of Hosiud proved to be too crowded for her to function. She fled, swollen stomach and all.The search party was enormous, the Prince searching for her, himself. 

It wasn’t until years later that a child appeared at the edge of the wood, clothed in sunlight and nymphs flocking about him did the Prince, now King, realize his child had returned. And in return, he vowed to never let him go. 

 

“Yet, you are your father’s child. This baby, David, doesn’t hold the DNA of anyone you particularly care for. He loved you instantly because you were a piece of the woman he loved dearly. “ Gwen cupped the baby’s head, he fussed under her touch. “This child, you don’t have any connection to him.” 

David glanced down at him, lips curving into a slight frown. “Mother led me to hear him. With how far we had been from his placement, there wouldn’t have been any possible way for me to hear him cry. Yet I did. Mother didn’t want him to die, and neither do I.” A crystalline tear trekked it’s way down the smooth planes of his face. 

He wiped it away and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of the baby’s head. “I will not abandon him when my mother fought so hard for him to live. When I continue this fight, I will win. And if I need to abandon everything I love so that he may have the best life, then I will do so, and not regret a minute of it.” 

“You’re insane.” But Gwen’s words were not harsh. They held understanding. “But, if you feel as though your mother is the one who led you to him, I will not dismiss your feelings. We just need to figure out how to convince your father to let him stay.”

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, of thought. David moved gently to accommodate the baby held gently to his chest. A knock at the door startled the three of them. A slight girl with peachy hair, and a soft face stood there hesitantly, almost startled. “Your highness, Lord Jasper seeks out your presence in the Garden.” 

A smile met his face as he glanced down at the baby, and a mortified look met Gwen’s as they all realized the depth of the situation to it’s fullest. “Ready Max?” 

“Max?” Both Gwen and the handmaiden questioned thoughtfully.

“Maxwell seems like a fine name. Max for short, and maybe if I’m feeling adventurous Maxie. But the result is the same. We’ll be a wonderful family.” The hand maiden smiled thoughtfully and absentmindedly stroked at his head of curls. 

“It seems like a wonderful name, your majesty. I’m sure it fits the little prince wholeheartedly.” 

“I agree.” Gwen piped up, glancing towards Max. “He seems like a Max to me too.” 

“Well, let’s go introduce my wonderful suitor to this little wonderful being!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> David finds himself, not so much in a moral dilemma, but that of a situational dilemma.  
> Gwen is certain the King will have her head.  
> Don't underestimate the power of the creatures of the forest.  
> Stay tuned until next time.


	3. roots

He was greeted with snapdragons and weeping willows, a dense thicket his father had kept to the nymphs. His Jasper, a nymph himself, set upon a marriage to continue the bloodline of the Great Mother. 

Mother had sent him. 

David had always been sure of it. 

 

There might’ve been moments where he might have remembered her. Her ethereal locks, like flowing sun beams, eyes like the ovular leaves of her tree, so deep and rich with feeling. The feeling she left them all with could not be diminished. She was the savior of the forest, it’s life force. 

Losid could tell him story upon story of her magnificence, yet those small smiles and sweet melodies she sang to him, would be all he could remember until they were reunited again. 

Sometimes he feared that would never happen. 

 

“Do you always carry strange human children into your mother’s domain, sapling?” his lithe body slid down the willow tree, enticing eyes jaded by the opium he’d foraged. “Or is this our engagement present?” 

“Slightly.” David chided, pressing a gentle kiss to Max’s head. “This is our son, Maxwell. Mother led me to him, just as she led me to you.” A lopsided grin grew upon Jasper’s features. 

“Mother knows best. And a baby with you, before we’re married? What a scandal! I love it.” he offered up his arms to David, and David complied, feeling slightly empty when he handed Max over to his soon to be husband. 

Jasper studied him for a few moments, face scrunched in concentration. “He has our eyes.” Jasper paused, trying to make sense of the words leaving him. “Specifically if we fornicated and produced a love child, his eyes would be the same color.” 

Max cooed gently, and produced a hefty sneeze. David shot forward, as if he anticipated Max to fall, but he knew that Jasper would protect him, as he did with every other living creature. Jasper caught David out of his stumble, and pulled him close as well. 

“How are we going to tell Losid?” it was whispered upon his neck. 

David’s face fell. “My intention was to tell you after him, but fate would not have it that way.” Jasper raised an eyebrow. 

“Why me after your father?” David sighed, and stepped back, taking Max up with him. 

“Because if the decision falls upon him being unable to stay within the confines of our world, then I will leave it.” Jasper took a step forward, and David followed opposite. 

“You’re going to leave me if your father does not approve?” 

“I am not leaving Max behind in an unforgiving world. Mother would not have allowed it.” 

“The Great Mother cannot prevent all casualties, even though she tries! What you’re saying is complete ludacris!” Jasper ran a hand gently down his cheek. “You cannot leave me again.” David sucked in a deep breath. 

“You know I do not remember leaving.” Jasper’s face fell even more than it already had. 

“Of course you don’t.” 

 

                                         *~*~*~*~*

 

_ “Great Mother, where is it you wish to go?” the panic seeping out of the woman’s voice was enough to draw stress into the next contraction. “The Willows? The Pines?”  _

_ “The redwoods. You know he must be. His sapling grows near mine. He must be with it when he is brought into this world.”  _

_ “But he is half Elven, Great Mother.”  _

_ She grit her teeth, hand clenching around the handmaidens arm. “He is my son, the Prince of our realm. He is to be birthed in the spring that gave me life upon the downfall of my family. Do you understand, Delinea?” she nodded upon the request, leading the way.  _

_ “There is no medical attention to be received in the realm of the redwoods, Great Mother.” teary green eyes looked upon the maiden with the flax hair.  _

_ “Come to me in my time of need, Delinea. Help me birth my son.” the young nymph glanced towards the Willows where her wife and son stood. “I’m scared.” she admitted thoughtfully. “You know my body better than anyone in this world. “ _

_ “That was years ago.” she hushed, a sad smile playing at her lips. “Before the King whisked you away, and I had become betrothed.”  _

_ “My body has not changed, except for the swell of child.”  _

_ “A child changes a lot.” Another contraction struck her, and she doubled over. “Let me take you to the Willows. They will treat your needs.”  _

_ “Delinea.”  _

_ “Rowania, let Hilsia and I help you. You can birth him on the border of all the Kingdoms, he will be the King of all, and so you may have your disciples at your disposal.” Rowania nodded, lithe body being swept up easily by her past lover as her consciousness escaped her for a moment.  _

 

_ When she woke she was being placed in the center temple, her legs spread and held high. Her labor dress hung heavy on her body as it pulsed with the life being expelled from it. Delinea sat between her legs, hands massaging her stomach to ease the contraction.  _

_ “He is to be King of all.” she murmured to Delinea, eyes watery. Then a scream left her.  _

  
  
  


_ “You are not to leave the border, understand me, Daevid?” a pout followed her command.  _

_ “But Mama, I want to see Jaespius.” she gathered up his hands and pressed gentle kisses to them.  _

_ “Daevid, you must understand that if I were to lose you, I would die. You are made of the woods, and the magic that gods only wish they could own.  You are me and more.” he gave her a small smile. “My little prince, you could own the world if you so desired.”  _

_ “But I just wish to see Jaespius. Nothing else.”  _

_ “Then it is Jaespius you will see. I figure you do not wish for me to send a guard with you. So promise me that if you find yourself in need of it, tap twice upon the roots to call for help.” Daevid nodded, plump hands clutching at his mother’s face as he pressed his forehead upon hers. “Do not stray too far, and stay on the border.”  _

_ He took off in a sprint, laughter following him, as joyful in the wild as he was in temperament. The border drew near to him, feet dancing along it. The Willows always faded into Elven territory, which Daevid’s mother had told him to steer clear of. The Willows had made a pact with them many years prior. The Willows would provide protection if the Elven would respect and worship the Great Mother as they did. Upon agreeing, civilization was built.  _

_ Daevid loved the lights, and the magic they brought with them.  _

_ A pair of bare feet fell in front of him, scaring him slightly. But upon realizing it was only his best friend, he could produce nothing but a grin. “You startled me.”  _

_ “My sincerest apologies, Great Son.” Jaespius chided, touching his face gently.  _

_ “You know my name, use it.” Daevid teased, pushing him away softly.  _

_ “Oh Great Daevid, my sincerest apologies!” Jaespius spun around, latching onto the lowest branch of his life giver, and pulling himself up. He looked back down to him. “I’ve missed you, your highness. It’s been awhile.”  _

_ “Mama wouldn’t let me come to the border while the Elves were on patrol for your Kingdom.” Jaespius gave him a look.  _

_ “I don’t blame her. They would take you away if they found you.” his words were harsher than he’d meant them to be. Daevid flinched at them, and clung to the roots separating them.  _

_ “I fear them.”  _

_ “As you should.”  _

_ “But I fear the man in white even more.” a cocked eyebrow followed him.  _

_ “The man in white?”  _

_ “He comes in the night, only to the edge of the Pines. He sings to my tree, and sits with it. His words are ancient, and foreign. But I understand.” fireflies dotted the sky in between them. It was growing dark. Almost dark enough for the man in white to come to the temple.  _

_ “What does he say?” Jaespius slid down the tree, clutching at him. David was taken aback. “Daevid, you must tell me what he says.”  _

_ A sob escaped the child as he clung to the boy he felt most at ease with. “He wishes to take me to his Kingdom. A faraway land where I will never be sad again. He says I will live with him, and never grow old. Never have to worry. He sings me lullabies.”  _

_ “I will sleep at the roots tonight and scare him off.” Daevid began to speak, but Jaespius cut him off, a finger pressed to his lips as if he had the authority. “I will keep you safe.”  _

_ “You were not born a Pine.”  _

_ “But I was born to keep you safe, as your disciple. As your servant.”  _

_ “I do not wish for you to be one of my servants.”  _

_ “And yet I am.” Jaespius chuckled, hanging to him.  _

_ “I’m not going to leave you if you plan on staying. I will sleep with you. Give you entrance to the temple.” The only way that was possible was to create a blood tie between the two. If they did that, they could never be separated, lest one falls ill.  _

_ “No.”  _

_ “You don’t have a say. Give me your hand.” Jaespius broke from Daevid’s grip and took a few steps back into Willow territory.  _

_ “Great Son, it’s time you head home.”  _

_ “Jaespius,” his eyes were pleading.  _

_ “Shall I call your mother for you?” his hand hovered over the roots after he’d planted two knocks.  The young myph fought back tears. He would sacrifice himself if it meant Daevid might be safe. The man in White was an old God, set to take the Redwoods, to crown them as Deities. Yet to achieve fullest immortality they must die. He’d heard his mothers talking of him.  _

_ Jaespius would rather create a blood tie with the border than the boy himself. That way, it would be reinforced with his life. His tree.  _

_ Ten, and already willing to die for something greater.  _

_ Ten, and willing to die for him.  _

_ “Jaespius. I will not let you die.” Six, and already wishing upon him. How lucky he must be.  _

_ Jaespius gathered him up once more, cheeks flushing a gentle green before pressing a chaste and innocent kiss to his lips. “I wish to keep you safe.”  _

_ And then Daevid was whisked away by Pines, kicking and screaming.  _

  
  


_ Jaespius sat upon his roots, the one he knew intertwined with David’s. With a tree as large as his, it would be nearly impossible not to. Yet, it left him with a joy he could not describe.  _

_ A rustling in the bushes closest to the Pines startled him.  _

_ White. Cold.  _

_ White.  _

_ Singing. It must be the lullabies of the old. Of the Gods, and the monsters.  _

_ It stopped when he began to vocalize songs of healing. The songs of the Willows.  _

_ His steps turned the grass to ice around him, and Jaespius could feel the frigid air upon his neck as the man towered over him. “C..hil...d.” Instinctively, the young nymph took a few steps back. “Da...e...v….id…?” as if questioning where the Prince might be.  His dead eyes scanned the surroundings.  _

_ “He’s mine.” the younger could not tell you where that came from. It was pure spite, bubbling to the surface. How could he scare Daevid like this? _

_ “Y...ou...rs…” The god murmured, looking him up and down. If he could express emotions, the first would have been judgement upon his face. “Th...en… co...m...e w….ith… m..e.  Pa...r...a..dis...e.” he lunged at Jaespius’ chest, creating a few gashes.  _

_ If not for the ball of crimson rocketing itself at The Man in White, Jaespius had a firm belief he would’ve been torn to pieces. The young elven hybrid stood huffing as his eyes assessed the boy behind him.  _

_ “No...t… w….is...h t..o… hu….r….t. Th...e…. Pr….in...c...e.. On…..l...y… gi...ve… in…. Pay….ment…. Go...d...s… a….nd… Ki...n...g...s.. Wa...i...t..in...g…. Be…..fo...r.e. I ta….ke… f...or… go….od…”  _

_ “Don’t touch him!” Jaespius coughed, reaching for Daevid. The boy looked to Jaespius, concern gracing his features.  _

_ “Com...e… w...i...ll no...t hu...r...t th… e… bo...y i...f …. Yo...u ...co...me… to… m..e....” Daevid bit his lip, and tapped on the roots twice before crossing into the Pines.  _

_ “I’ll see you again. I promise.”  _

_ This time he didn’t go kicking and screaming.  _

 

                        *~*~*~*~*~*

“It doesn’t matter.” Jasper’s chest burned. “Just let me hold you for a moment.” David complied, pressing Max to their combined chests again. It was serene. He could feel Jasper, maybe more intimately than before. It was like they were connected somehow. As if by roots. 


End file.
